Lakerholics

While the chances the Los Angeles Lakers would trade their entire superstar big three are slim and none, it’s intriguing to consider what the purple and gold could get for Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James.

While there’s little question the Lakers will attempt to trade Westbrook and his $47 million expiring contract this summer, the idea of Los Angeles also trading LeBron James and Anthony Davis would be an extreme makeover. Although it’s been a tough last two seasons, trading a James and Davis duo that dominated every round of the playoffs and won their 17th NBA championship in the bubble less than 18 months ago would be stupid.

While the odds of a Lakers’ total rebuild seem remote, trading James and Davis would have to be motivated on expectation the 37-year old James and injury prone Davis are no longer good enough to win another championship. Hence, the smart move is to trade them while their value is still high enough to bring back not only younger potential stars and role players to enable the Lakers to avoid a complete overhaul and still compete for a title.

While Russ is the sure superstar the Lakers will trade, let’s look at what L.A. could conceivably receive for trading Russell Westbrook, then LeBron James, and finally Anthony Davis in an extreme makeover this summer.

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1. Proposed Russell Westbrook Trade

The one superstar the Lakers do have to trade is Westbrook, whose $47 million expiring contract should finally become a valuable trading chip. The key is finding a trade partner looking to reduce long-term commitments.

The Pacers should be one of the Lakers’ possible trading partners as they have two players in Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield whose multi-year contracts they would like to move on from and who’d be Lakers upgrades. The salary dump trade that makes sense for the Lakers and Pacers is Russell Westbrook’s $47.1 million expiring contract for Malcolm Brogdon’s 3-year $67 million contract and Buddy Hield’s 2-year $40 million contract.

What’s great about this trade is it works whether the Lakers plan to trade Anthony Davis and/or LeBron James. If the Lakers do plan to trade either of them, they will need to expand this trade to include Pacers’ Myles Turner. The perfect solution for the Lakers would like to expand the Westbrook for Brogdon and Hield trade to include Horton-Tucker, Nunn, and the Lakers’ unprotected 2027 first round pick in return for Pacers center Myles Turner.

The expanded Westbrook trade would not only give the Lakers an elite stretch five shot-blocking center in Turner to replace Davis but also two high quality starters or backups in Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield.

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2. Proposed LeBron James Trade

If the Lakers were able to get the Pacers to trade Turner, Brogdon, and Hield for Russ, THT, Nunn, and the 2027 pick, they might be smart to stop there. Those three new starters are a perfect fit with LeBron James and AD.

A starting lineup of Brogdon, Hield, James, Davis, and Turner would solve the Lakers’ issues with size and give them the versatility to play small with Davis or James at five or go with two-bigs with Turner at five and Davis at four. Here’s where the Lakers’ worries about 37-year old LeBron James’ physical decline and his and Anthony Davis’ tendency to get injured become factors. The question is can LeBron and AD still lead the Lakers to championships?

LeBron at 37-years old is already starting to show signs of physical decline and more frequent and serious injuries. If the Lakers do not believe they can still win a title with LeBron, they should look to trade him and keep AD. Anthony Davis at 28-years old is still a top ten player and trading LeBron back to Cleveland for Sexton, Markkanen, and Okoro would give the Lakers two legitimate NBA starters along with a elite defensive role player.

The key to the James trade for the Lakers is Sexton and two first round draft picks to replenish their trade assets stockpile. The Lakers see Sexton as one of the team’s new young stars to replace LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

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3. Proposed Anthony Davis Trade

After trading Westbrook and James, the Lakers have two options. They could stand pat by adding Turner, Sexton, Brogdon, Hield, Markkanen, and Okoro to complement Anthony Davis or take the final step and trade AD.

Trading LeBron James may have made trading Anthony Davis a necessity due to Klutch Sports. Anthony Davis may demand to be traded if LeBron is traded. Trading LeBron and AD would sever the alliance with Klutch Sports. The trade would be Anthony Davis to Boston for Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, giving the Lakers a second young star in Brown to pair with Sexton as the team’s future star duo to replace LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

While the Lakers lose AD, they receive two proven All-Star 3&D starters in return in Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown. Smart is the lock-down defensive guard and Brown the All-Star defender and elite scorer the Lakers need. Today’s NBA is a guard and wing driven league and, like the Westbrook and James trades, the Davis trade helps the Lakers become a better, deeper, and younger team that should have a decades long championship window.

Trading Anthony Davis would signal the end of the Lakers/Klutch alliance and LeBron’s 4-year stint with the purple and gold. But the trade would also be the piece de resistance of a dramatic Lakers’ extreme makeover.

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4. Roster After Trading Superstar Big Three

The above Westbrook, Davis, and James trades would give give the Lakers eight new players: Myles Turner, Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and Isaac Okoro.

Five of those eight new players would be projected as starters, including Collin Sexton, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Lauri Markkanen, and Myles Turner. Brogdon, Hield, and Okoro would become backups to the starters. The Lakers would also bring back four players from this year’s team: Carmelo Anthony, Austin, Reaves, and Stanley Johnson. That would leave three rosters spots open for free agents and players from the NBA Draft.

The new Lakers roster would be extremely talented and deep at both guard and small forward positions with three All-Star starters in Sexton, Smart, and Brown and three starter quality backups in Brogdon, Hield, and Okoro. While Turner gives the Lakers a shot-blocking stretch five center, they also need to use empty roster spots and even a trade of a valued guard like Hield to upgrade their front court with a power forward like Christian Wood.

There’s no question the Lakers should be able to find trading partners for all three of their superstars should they decide to undergo an extreme makeover. The resulting roster could be good enough to be a contender. However, we’ve all seen how teams constructed on paper often don’t translate on the hardwood. It’s easy to see from above that there are logical stopping points for the Lakers after trading Russ and then LeBron.

The Lakers will try to trade Westbrook and explore what they might be able to get for LeBron James and Anthony Davis. But there are scenarios where the dominos line up and the Lakers trade all three of their superstars.

Less than a year and a half after winning their 17th NBA championship, the Lakers are finally entering what amounts to the end-game of the LeBron James era as the King only has one year remaining on his contract.

As their championship hopes fade to reality, the Lakers appear to be destined at best to be a play-in team this season, making it two straight years of poor roster construction and extensive injuries to their superstars. But the challenges facing the Lakers this offseason are going to determine whether the franchise can regain its footing as a legitimate championship contender or whether they will be forced into some form of a rebuild.

Heading into the final third of this disappointing season, here are the five major franchise-defining questions the Los Angeles Lakers must answer as the team enters into the end-game of the LeBron James era.

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1. Can LeBron James Still Carry the Los Angeles Lakers to Title?

When you look at the stats for the Lakers this season, what jumps out other than the disappointing 27–33 record is LeBron James’ negative net rating for the season. The Lakers are actually losing the minutes LeBron James plays.

LeBron James’ 109.7 offensive rating less his 111.4 defensive rating give him a -1.7 net rating for this season, which is the first time in 18 seasons he’s had a negative net rating since a -2.0 net rating in his 2003–04 rookie season. Winning the LeBron minutes has never been the Lakers problem until this year. Last year, LeBron’s net rating was +9.2 and the year before +8.5. The Last five games, LeBron’s net rating has been a -10.2, 12th on the Lakers.

Other than the heroic fourth quarter in the Utah Jazz win, LeBron James has struggled by his standard over the last five games, posting 28.4/9.4/5.4 but shooting just 48.7/32.4/80.0% and averaging a Westbrookish 5.2 turnovers. Assuming Davis is out for next 12 to 18 games, the Lakers need to be careful not to overwork LeBron and risk him suffering a major injury like happened to Kobe Bryant. Truth is LeBron James needs to rest the knee now.

The Lakers should seriously consider shutting down LeBron for a week or two rather than risking him getting injured. The remote chance the Lakers could win #18 this season is not worth risking the health of LeBron James.

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2. Should the Lakers Continue the Close Alliance with Klutch Sports?

Fortunately, I believe any question about the future of the relationship between the Lakers and Klutch Sports has been already been addressed by LeBron James and Rich Paul meeting with Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss.

The next step would be confirmation from Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss that the Lakers/Klutch alliance was in good standing and they’re looking forward to making moves this summer to rebuild roster to championship level. Getting LeBron to sign an extension will require the Lakers to be willing to trade first round picks, take back players with multiple-year contracts, and pay whatever luxury taxes it takes to compete and win NBA championships.

There’s always will be some friction between LeBron James and whatever team he plays for because they often have different agendas, usually LeBron in total win-now mode and the team not wanting to sacrifice their future. Franky, it’s telling the news about LeBron and Rich meeting with Rob and Jeanie all came from Klutch Sports rather than from the Lakers. LeBron and Rich smartly understanding they can’t push the Lakers like other teams.

The close alliance with Klutch Sport has been a big advantage for the Lakers over other NBA teams. Klutch delivered a message but so did the Lakers. The Lakers/Klutch alliance should continue even after LeBron James retires.

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3. Is Anthony Davis Still Right Superstar to Take Baton from LeBron?

Just 18 months ago, we were talking about AD taking the baton from LeBron as the Lakers’ best player. If a Davis injury ends a second straight Lakers season, the discussion about AD may be whether to trade him.

Now that it looks like Davis will have just 6 to 9 regular season games left after returning from injury to get ready for the playoffs, the Lakers should hope for a replay of the bubble, where AD had only 8 regular season games. While the Lakers/Klutch breakup story was hot, everyone talked about what a haul the Lakers could get trading LeBron and AD. The true value of both these players is elite. They’re generational. You don’t trade them away.

But we can’t ignore the how injuries to LeBron and AD have hurt the team. For LeBron, it’s Father Time and personal load management limiting him. Before this injury, AD was getting back to playing like the bubble AD. Part of the decision of whom the Lakers pursue to replace LeBron will depend on how well Anthony Davis plays the rest of this season and next. Injury worry could impact how the Lakers use AD but he’s still LeBron’s heir apparent.

We’re not yet at the point of figuring out how to position to draft Bronny or how exactly Giannis will replace LeBron on the Lakers but for now Anthony Davis, for at least next year, will be the Lakers’ future alpha star.

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4. Should Lakers Rethink Their Total Commitment to Small Ball?

While the Lakers won their 17th championship playing small with James at the four and Davis the five, they should rethink committing entirely to small ball going forward to save wear-and-tear on LeBron and AD.

While AD may be the best small ball five and LeBron the best small ball four, having an injury prone center and overworked 37-year old power forward playing the two most physical lineup positions might not be so smart. With Davis out for four to five more weeks, the Lakers need to play Dwight Howard at the five more to avoid burning out or injuring LeBron James at the five. That’s a strategy the Lakers should adopting next season.

The problem with the Lakers playing small is the lack of a third 3&D front court player to complement James and Davis, either a small forward who can guard big wings or stretch four or five who can protect the rim. The best solution could be to go big and trade for a stretch center like Myles Turner or Christian Wood, who would allow the Lakers to play five-out small ball on offense but with the size to protect the rim on defense.

Having a modern stretch five center like Turner or Wood would make the Lakers more versatile and dangerous in the playoff and reduce the banging and physicality that could wear down LeBron or AD and lead to their injury.

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5. What Should the Lakers Be Looking for in Next Head Coach?

There’s a consensus in the media that Frank Vogel will not return as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Short of a miraculous postseason finish by the Lakers, this year will probably be Vogel’s last as the Lakers’ head coach.

Firing Vogel raises the question of what should the Lakers be looking for in their next head coach. They need a coach who knows the game at a high level and whom superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis will respect. Ultimately, it would also help if the next head coach had played for or had a connection to the Lakers as that would make it easier to hire him and having played in the league is often an advantage when coaching players.

The Lakers should avoid bringing in another recycled coach like David Fizdale. Ideally, they should look to make a bold hire like the Brooklyn Nets did with Steve Nash and consider Rajon Rondo as the Lakers’ next head coach. Rondo is not only one of the smartest players who ever put on an NBA jersey but also a fiery competitor who knows the Lakers’ front office and has played with LeBron and AD and many of the players on the team.

The Lakers would need to supplement Rondo’s staff with proven former head coaches but by choosing someone with his background and potential, the Lakers could make a quick, smooth transition from Frank Vogel.

The Lakers will be under intense pressure to win games the rest of this season and transform their flawed roster into a deeper, more balanced and talented team this summer to convince LeBron James to sign an extension.

LeBron James will become eligible to sign a 2-year extension with the Lakers on August 4th. The Lakers need to do everything in their power before then to win enough games and improve their roster to get LeBron to re-sign. While the Lakers didn’t have the chips to make a big move at the trade deadline, they’ll be able to offer their 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks and Russell Westbrook’s $47 million contract will now be expiring.

There’s also been a rash of articles in the media and blogs about the Lakers wanting to distance themselves from Klutch Sports. While the organizations have many common goals, their motives have not always been fully aligned. Nevertheless, the partnership has resulted in the Lakers getting superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and winning the team’s 17th NBA championship in the bubble, proof of the benefits of the Klutch alliance.

The Los Angeles Lakers/Klutch Sports alliance has been a huge edge for the Lakers over other NBA teams. While it can be an unwieldy partnership at times requiring compromise, it’s an advantage no other NBA team has. That’s not something you throw away or risk losing. Nothing wrong with wanting to renegotiate issues but keeping communications open and working to refine and make the partnership even better is smart.

So what do the Lakers have to do to convince LeBron James to sign a two-year extension to continue wearing the purple and gold? Here are the four key things the Lakers must accomplish to get LeBron to sign an extension:

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1. Mend Fences with Klutch Sports and Agree on Offseason Plan

Nobody knows who or how the Lakers front office makes decisions. Most observers see the team run by a cadre of four individuals: team governor Jeanie Buss, VPBO Rob Pelinka, and advisors Kurt and Linda Rambis.

What’s missing are the dominant voices the Lakers had when Jerry Buss was managing owner and Jerry West GM. Instead, Lakers now make decisions via mutual collaboration and consensus rather than decisive executive edict. One of the reasons the collaborative approach has worked for the Lakers has been their close alliance with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, the agency that coincidentally represents both LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

From LeBron’s free agency signing to Anthony Davis forced trade, there’s a valid argument Rich Paul and, by extension LeBron James, have been the true general managers behind the L.A. Lakers’ 17th NBA championship. While there are situations where what’s best for the team and a player may not align, there’s no question signing LeBron James as a free agent and then forcing a trade for Anthony Davis were gifts to the Lakers by Klutch Sports.

Rob Pelinka and Rich Paul need to sit down together and get back on the same page because the LeBron James and Anthony Davis pairing is still the genius move that raised the bar and ceiling for both the Lakers and Klutch. They need to share intelligence and work together to figure out how best to resolve the Russell Westbrook situation, keep the players who have proven they belong, and how to upgrade the starting lineup and overall rotations.

The Lakers/Klutch Sports alliance has been a major success for both the NBA team and the player agency. The Lakers need to do what’s necessary to mend the fences and keep Klutch Sports as an exclusive weapon.

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2. Finish Regular Season Strong and Show Up Big in Playoffs

The Lakers have 24 games remaining in the regular season. They are currently 9th in the West with a 27–31 record. To compete for 6th seed and avoid the play-in, the Lakers need to win 75% of the rest of their games.

That would mean going 18–6 with a good chance neither Anthony Davis or Kendrick Nunn will be available until the last 6 to 12 games. Realistically, the Lakers will be hard pressed to avoid being in the play-in tournament. While participating in the play-in tourney would create a gauntlet the Lakers would have to survive to win the championship, the silver lining is they always have a chance with a healthy and motivated James and Davis.

The Lakers have finally elevated their play over the last few games, almost defeating the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco and coming from behind after losing Anthony Davis to injury to smack down the Utah Jazz. Hopefully, they’ll come back refreshed after the All-Star break ready to make a stretch run despite missing their superstar center. While they probably can’t go 18–6 over the last 24, the goal should be at least 15–9.

As for the playoffs, here’s where it gets interesting, if the Laker finish 7th or 8th, they can win the #7 or #8 seed. If the finish 9th or 10th, they can only win the #8 seed. Ideally, the Lakers want the #7 seed to face the Warriors. Because of matchups, the last team the Warriors want to play in the first round of the playoffs is the Lakers with healthy superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Lakers could upset Warriors and win first round battle.

Who knows, maybe the Lakers take down the Grizzlies in round two and the Suns to get to the Finals and we have a Hollywood ending to the story. Showing up in the playoffs, however, could be key to keeping LeBron.

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3. Bring Back Role Players Monk, Anthony, Reaves, Johnson, and Nunn

One of the underappreciated aspects of this season has been the emergence of five talented role players who should be part of the Lakers’ roster next season, hopefully providing some long needed continuity and consistency.

This season, the Lakers brought back just three players from the previous season: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Talen Horton-Tucker. The expected lack of continuity was exacerbated by injuries and poor lineups. Even if they trade Horton-Tucker, who’s not a great fit next, and Russ, the Lakers still have five quality role players in Malik Monk, Carmelo Anthony, Austin Reaves, Stanley .Johnson, and Kendrick Nunn.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis plus the five proven role players listed above would give the Lakers’ roster for next season seven returning players, which is almost half of the fifteen active players on their roster. The Lakers need to use Russ’ $47 million expiring contract and THT’s $10 million contract and their 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks to trade for three quality starters to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Of the five role players, Malik Monk is the one the Lakers are most at risk of losing because the most they can offer him is the taxpayer $6.2 million MLE, while there could be teams willing to offer him the full $10 million MLE. Reaves is under contract, Nunn has a player option, Johnson a team option, and Anthony likely to want to run it back. So with luck, the Lakers might be able to keep the best of this year’s team for better continuity next season.

Bringing back players whom LeBron likes and respects is just as important as bringing in new players who solve needs that cost us wins. Monk, Anthony, Reaves, Johnson, and Nunn would give the Lakers a great bench.

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4. Trade for Third Superstar or Three Elite Two-Way Starters

The most important thing the Lakers can do to get LeBron to sign an extension this summer is trade Westbrook, THT, and their 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks for a third superstar or three quality starters.

How successful the Lakers are in trading Russ and his $47 million expiring contract, Horton-Tucker, and picks for that elusive third superstar —like Lillard or Beal — could determine whether LeBron stays or forces a trade. While it’s a long shot that the Lakers could turn Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, and two first round picks into a third superstar or three elite starters, there are fortunately pathways Pelinka can take to accomplish both goals.

Landing a legitimate third superstar to complement James and Davis would likely require a loyal superstar like Lillard or Beal requesting the Blazers or the Wizards to trade him to the Lakers, which is not very likely to happen. But trading for three potential starters who would be major upgrades over the current starters is something Rob could accomplish using Russ’ $47 million expiring contract and the Lakers’ two first round draft picks.

The key is the Lakers’ willingness to trade Russ’ expiring contract for two or three players with multiple-year deals. The Pacers, for example, might take Russ’ expiring contract to dump Brogdon’s and Hield‘s long-term contracts. While they would be getting Russ’ $47 million expiring contract, they would also be avoiding the over $100 million total salary owed to the other two. The real value of expiring contracts is helping other teams clear cap space.

Turning Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, and their 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks into three quality 3&D starters would be the kind of offseason Rob Pelinka needs to have to convince LeBron James to sign an extension.

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What this entire situation has come down to is a battle for positioning on what the end of the LeBron as a Laker era is going to look like. Will it end with the Lakers paying max salaries to a diminished superstar like Kobe? The win-now Lakers just don’t want the LeBron era to end like it did the two times he left Cleveland , where the team was left with zero cap space and too many overpaid veteran role players on long-term contracts.

In the end, its LeBron versus Jeanie in that Klutch want the Lakers to go all-in to win another championship, which today means trading draft picks, taking back long-term contracts, and be willing to pay mega luxury taxes. These are points Lakers’ media and fans have been screaming about for years. The rules of how you win in the NBA have changed and the Lakers need to recommit to doing whatever is needed to win championships.

Lakers need to mend fences with Klutch, finish season strong and have good run in the playoffs, bring back their five elite role players, and trade Russ’ expiring contract and picks for a third superstar or three starters.

That’s how the Los Angeles Lakers get LeBron James to sign an extension.

Two disappointing injury-plagued seasons where the front office failed to make moves to improve the team at the trade deadline have now morphed into a crisis that could result in LeBron James leaving the Los Angeles Lakers.

For a team that won its 17th NBA championship just 17 month ago, how the landscape has changed is stunning. How the Lakers respond and play the rest of this season could be critical to what finally happens this summer. Maybe is just posturing as usual and LeBron is just putting the normal pressure on the Lakers to be prepared to make major moves and spend lavishly this summer to build a legitimate championship team to keep him.

Or maybe what we’re seeing is the next step in evolution of player freedom as LeBron James charts a dramatic return back to Cleveland or minimum contract signing as a free agent to play for team that drafts his son Bronny. Bronny will eligible to be drafted by an NBA team the summer of 2024 while LeBron’s contract with the Lakers ends the summer of 2023, meaning next season could be LeBron James’ final year wearing the purple and gold.

This summer was going to be huge for the Lakers before LeBron turned it into the summer that will determine the future of the franchise. Here are four possible paths for LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers this summer.

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1. LeBron Signs Extension and Guarantees Lakers Two Years

LeBron signing a 1+1 extension is the best solution as it guarantees the Lakers at least 2 more years of the King while setting up a 39-year old James to join another NBA team and enjoy his dream of playing with his son.

This would certainly be the Kumbaya solution as it would signal at least a temporary peace and alignment between the Los Angeles Lakers and Klutch Sports and a recommitment to win championships with LeBron and AD. It’s also the smartest option for both sides, who know injuries have been the real culprits who derailed the Lakers/Klutch championship quest. A heathy, rested, and engaged LeBron James and Anthony Davis is unbeatable.

James agreeing to an extension to be a Laker through 2024 with option to be a free agent the summer his son Bronny is likely to be drafted by an NBA team would be the idea solution for the Lakers and Klutch this summer.

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2. LeBron Refuses Extension and Lakers Gamble to Keep Him

LeBron refusing to sign an extension and threatening to leave as a free agent after next season could force the Lakers to pursue a blockbuster trade this summer to replace Russell Westbrook with a legitimate third superstar.

While the Lakers’ assets were underwhelming at the trade deadline, they should be appreciably better this summer when the Lakers will be able to offer two first round picks and Westbrook will become an expiring contract. Whether that would be enough to trade for a legit third superstar like Dame or Beal is uncertain as is the question of whether it would be smarter to swap Russ, the picks, and filler for three elite starters and a deeper bench.

LeBron may opt to keep his options after next season open and apply maximum pressure on the Lakers to make moves and spend money this summer to build a championship team or risk losing him to free agency.

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3. LeBron Refuses Extension and Lakers Look to Trade Him

The Lakers’ other option should LeBron refuse to sign an extension would be to trade James this summer to avoid losing him for nothing the following summer. Trading LeBron could end up being a savvy move by the Lakers.

Even though he’s 37-years old, there’s no question LeBron James would bring back a huge package of talent and picks. Would the Cavs give up Collin Sexton, Jarrett Allen, Kevin Love, and two first rounders for LeBron? Could the Lakers choreograph a LeBron trade that netted them another top ten player and a pair of elite starters plus picks for the future. It would not have to be a rebuild. The Lakers could still remain a legitimate contender.

While trading LeBron could yield a huge haul, LeBron is irreplaceable for the Lakers, which is why Los Angeles needs to look at every possible option to convince LeBron James to stay, including drafting Bronny James.

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4. Lakers Breakup with Klutch and Also Trade Anthony Davis

To the competition, the partnership between the LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers and Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports is an unholy alliance with the devil, something the league should be investigating and somehow outlawing.

The past two seasons have been plagued by injuries to both James and Davis, reminding everybody LeBron is now 37-years old and Anthony has missed more games than he’s played during the last two Lakers’ seasons. Maybe it’s buyer’s remorse for agreeing to their superstars request to trade for Russ, or the pressure last year to not trade THT for Lowry or pressure this year to trade Russ and the pick to Rockets for Klutch client John Wall?

At any rate, one very possible fallout from the collapse of the alliance between the Los Angeles Lakers and Klutch Sports could be a request from Rich Paul for the Lakers to trade both LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

If the Los Angeles Lakers hope to compete for championships in a league where the challenge and financial investment to win titles have dramatically increased, they must be willing to pay the price to be a legitimate contender.

After winning their 17th championship in the bubble eighteen months ago, the Lakers struggled to stay competitive as injuries and Covid battered the roster and poor decisions and cap and tax strategies derailed progress. Suddenly, the NBA’s most storied franchise is facing a series of franchise defining decisions with major short and long-term implications as their usual championship team building strategies no longer seem to be working.

What’s happened is the competitive landscape for the NBA has changed and the price of admission to be a legitimate contender in the league today now requires top teams to accept gargantuan payrolls and mega luxury taxes. The last two years, the Lakers’ personnel decisions were driven by their old school strategies of trading for a third superstar, optimizing cap flexibility by only adding players on short term deals, and avoiding luxury taxes.

Unfortunately, those strategies led the Lakers to trade for Westbrook, build a roster of minimum salary players with no trade value, and lose valuable assets like Alex Caruso and Dennis Schroder to free agency with no return. Unable to find a deal at the trade deadline, the Lakers doubled down on the same outdated approach, positioning themselves to use Russ’ $47 million expiring contract and two first round picks to trade for Damian Lillard.

Lakers must accept the rules have changed. Tradeable players on long-term deals are better than cap space, mega luxury taxes are the new price of admission to compete, and two superstars and depth are better than three.

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1. Tradeable Players on Long-Term Deals Are Better Than Cap Space

The Lakers’ approach to team building has always favored cap space and players on 1-year deals over players on multiple-year contracts. The Lakers need to rethink this strategy as it limits both team talent and continuity.

with 13 of the 15 players on their roster making either max or minimum salaries, the Lakers’ ability to take advantage of trade opportunities to improve their roster are severely limited as we’ve seen the past two years. Cap space is great if you’re trying to sign LeBron James as your centerpiece but filling a roster with nothing but minimum salary players on 1-year deals limits the talent you can sign and your trading chips to get better.

The trade the Clippers made to land Powell and Covington, two players who would have been great fits on the Lakers, was a perfect example of a trade opportunity for which the Lakers simply did not have the assets to pull off. That’s why not failing to re-sign Caruso and Schroder as trading chips was a serious mistake. Standing pat at the trade deadline also did nothing to help the Lakers be in a better position with respect to trading chips this summer.

The key to putting the best possible team on the court and retaining the flexibility to free up cap space or come up with the assets needed to take advantage of trade opportunities is signing players to tradeable contracts. Signing key players you can easily move if necessary is a smarter strategy than turning over an entire roster of 1-year deals like the Lakers did the last two seasons. It gives you better players and a chance to build continuity.

Settling for 1-year deals to pursue cap space flexibility limits the talent a team can put on the court, the continuity teams needs to be a winner, and the trading chips to take advantage of opportunities to improve the roster.

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2. Mega Luxury Taxes Are Price of Admission to Compete for Title

While NBA teams have recently made moves to reduce luxury tax bills, the Lakers are unique among major big market competitors in that they’ve been unwilling to pay mega luxury taxes like the Warriors, Clippers, and Nets.

We’ve seen that in the Lakers’ decision not to re-sign Alex Caruso, a player whom they could have definitely used as a trading chip at the deadline or as a key rotation piece as they struggle to win enough games to make the playoffs. We’ve also seen the Lakers’ refuse at the deadline to accept the Rockets offer of Christian Wood in trade because of the luxury taxes re-signing a young talent like Wood could ultimately cost the franchise.

While the Lakers were never willing to pay significant luxury taxes back in the days the franchise was run by Dr. Jerry Buss, times have changed and big market teams like the Warriors, Clippers, and Nets have raised the bar. While the Lakers may not have billionaire owners like other franchises, they need to continue to invest in building their brand by doing what they have to do to compete in today’s NBA, even if that means mega luxury taxes.

With the salary cap and luxury tax threshold increasing next year, NBA teams as a whole seem to be making moves to limit how much luxury taxes they will have to pay, especially the small market teams who never pay taxes. Unfortunately, big market teams seem intent on raising the bar to compete for an NBA championship. There was a point when the Warriors, Clippers, and Nets were slated to pay over $100 million in luxury taxes.

The Lakers need to wake up and understand that the reason the franchise is worth almost $5 billion is because of the 17 NBA championships they have won. Luxury taxes are the new price of admission to be NBA champions.

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3. Two Superstars with Deep Roster Better Than Three Superstars

The Lakers’ and Nets’ experience with superstar big threes suggests two superstars with a deeper balanced roster could be the better team building model than three superstars for winning multiple NBA championships.

The two superstar model is just easier to put together. Just look at the potential personality and fit issues a team encounters trying to make three superstars work. There’s something about ’two’s company, three’s a crowd.’ That’s not even dealing with the issue that there’s only two other starters, which makes building a viable two-way starting and closing lineup near impossible, especially if all you can afford are players on minimum salaries.

Right now, the Lakers’ 15-man roster consists of 3 superstars on maximum deals, 2 players in Horton-Tucker ($9.5 million) and Nunn ($5 million) on non-minimum contracts, and 10 players on rookie or vet minimum deals. Being so top heavy, the Lakers other starters should logically be Talen and Kendrick since they’re being paid more. Unfortunately, Horton-Tucker has regressed from his sophomore season and Nunn has not been able to play.

Imagine if the Los Angeles Lakers could replace Westbrook and his $44.2 million salary with three high quality rotation players like Eric Gordon ($18.2 million), Christian Wood ($13.6 million), and Alec Burkes ($9.5 million)? That’s basically the route the Lakers should be looking to take this summer by trading Westbrook to the Thunder for Derrick Favors ($9.5 million) and a $34.7 million trade exception to acquire additional players.

While the Lakers are anxious to find a third superstar to replace LeBron James when he retires, right now they need to focus on finding two or three quality championship caliber players to complement their two superstars.